OnRPG Weekly News Roundup: December 01 – December 09

Christmas is getting closer and closer and whilst we all begin to put up our Christmas trees and prepare our stockings, MMORPG developers are working hard to give us Christmas content and make their respective game worlds look all cute and cuddly. This week has been rather slow, however the news that has come out has been rather major and well worth noting. So here we go into this week’s news roundup!

Final Fantasy XI: November Update Finally Finished

The falsely named “November” update has now been completed with the addition of the Synergy and Evolith features. This has bought an end to rather big update with the developers obviously hoping that there’s enough content in this package to keep you occupied until Final Fantasy XIV.

Here’s a rundown of the two new features:

What is Synergy?

Synergy is an advanced form of synthesis wherein up to six players, each with unique skills, cooperate to create a single item via an apparatus called the “synergy furnace.” Communal synergy furnaces have been made available in certain cities, and access to them will be granted to players who have completed the quest offered by the Metalworks NPC “Hildolf.” Players who have advanced their synergy skill level to five or above will become eligible to undertake another quest offered by the Bastok Mines NPC “Selliste.” Completing this quest will earn you access to an item that allows the summoning of a private furnace for use in field areas.

What is Evolith?

Long ignored by the populace of Vana’diel, the ancient stones known as evolith each contain unique powers that adventurers may now harness to enhance and customize their equipment. In order to reap its benefits, evolith must be embedded into apertures-slots in equipment capable of housing these stones. Broadly speaking, there are two categories of equipment for which this will be possible:

– Specialized equipment: A new set of equipment especially suited for evolith enhancement has been introduced. Available only through certain synergy recipes, these will support high-powered evolith unusable with standard equipment.

– Standard equipment: A wide range of existing items may also be rendered evolith-compatible if outfitted with apertures through a specific synergy process. Players may check whether or not a given item supports this process by trading it to a synergy engineer.

The whole thing appears rather confusing, so you can find information about the ins and outs of each process at Playonline.

Guild Wars: Cute Paper Chibi Gwen Doll

Want to make this:

Then visit the Guildwars Papercraft page here. Yes, in preparation for Wintersday Arenanet will be releasing a guide every Tuesday about how to create a paper vision of some of their most beloved characters. Make sure you check back at the link above every week for a new guide!

Guild Wars 2: New Race Trailer

Anyone who knows me will know how much I deeply love Guild Wars, and how I am eagerly anticipating Guild Wars 2. Well this week, my excitement for the game dramatically increased with the release of a brand new trailer which gives us a stack of information about the new races, whilst at the same time raising new questions about the storyline in GW2. I really recommend you to watch the Guild Wars 2 trailer. If there’s one thing that really strikes out at me, it’s the visuals. Whilst retaining the same look as the original game, Guild Wars 2 looks much more refined and truly does look amazing. Keep it up Arenanet! The official website also has some really nice information about the new races.

Battlefield Heroes: Mega Cash Shop Update

Just like that, DICE have somehow managed to practically destroy the community for Battlefield Heroes. In a store update the developers raised the price foritems which require Valor Points (the money you earn for playing the game) and reduced the time you time you can buy them for, allowing you to only buy them for one or three days. Unfortunately due to the high price you have to play for a very long time in order to be able to afford the items for just a day.

Those that have the means can buy the items with real life money for a cheap sum, which makes the game unbelievably unbalanced for those that don’t pay money to play the game. Take a look at the newly added items.

Eve Online: 12th Expansion Released

The long awaited 12th Expansion for Eve Online went live on the 1st December! The expansion is free to all those that play the game. Here’s some information about “Dominion”, courtesy of the Eve Online official website.

“DOMINION represents the type of conquest never realized by pretty words and poetry. It is true power born from the broken hulls of a thousand starships, the genes of the ambitious and the hubris of the greedy. EVE’s 12th free expansion offers the power of control to anyone bold enough to seize it, bringing you the tools for you to rally legions together and carve out your own space. Will your ambitious new Alliance rise up to the challenge and stake their claim, evolving territory to suit it’s needs? Will your established empire hold fast against the fleets that press at your borders, hungry for the wealth you protect? Will you call old friends to your side and convince them to join you once more in battle? Or are you the clever entrepreneur who sits clear of the danger and fuels the war from the periphery? DOMINION enhances the tools of communication and evolves the dynamics of war, altering the very way in which pilots interact with each other through warfare or cooperation. The vast riches of sovereign authority await for those bold enough to seize them amidst a beautiful, deadly universe of possibility.”

Mabinogi Europe: Closed Beta Now Open!

For those of you in Europe who haven’t been able to experience the sensation that is Mabinogi then you’re in luck as the European Closed Beta has now officially opened. All you need is a closed beta key, a Nexon account and two free Gigabytes. The beta will close on the 30th December.

Fallen Earth: Military Discount

“FALLEN EARTH, LLC, developers of the self-titled massively multiplayer online game (MMO), is pleased to announce the placement of a 20 percent off discount for all service men and women. As a bonus item, purchasers will also receive a Fallen Earth t-shirt with their order. The offer will apply to all five US military branches, including members of The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

“Many of our players are men and women who are in the armed forces,” said Jessica Orr, marketing manager for Fallen Earth. “We appreciate the sacrifices they make and we are excited to extend this offer to them.” As of today, military personnel will be able to purchase the game via the Fallen Earth online store, obtaining immediate access to the game and a 20 percent off discount. In order to receive the 20 percent off discount, a .mil email address will be required for verification. Military personnel who purchase will also receive a Fallen Earth t-shirt with their order.

Non MMORPG News

White Knight Chronicles: International Release DateThe release date for White Knight Chronicles in Europe and America is the 10th Feburary 2010. This new RPG by Level-5 is sure to tick all the right boxes especially with its MMO inspired online mode. Personally, I can’t wait to have this game in my hands.

No More Heroes: Travis Touchdown in Team Fortress 2Travis Touchdown from the exclusive Wii (yet soon to be on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3) game “No More Heroes” has made a guest appear in Team Fortress 2. You can now download a character model for Travis. This model replaces the Scout with our favourite kick boxing hero. Take a look at the video of the model in action.